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The GOOD Party expresses its deep concern and outrage at the current state of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, which has effectively ground to a halt following the expiration of the municipal fuel contract on 30 April 2026.  

This failure in basic administrative foresight has left emergency vehicles and essential service delivery fleets at a total standstill across the metro. It is an indictment on the leadership of this municipality that such a predictable administrative milestone was allowed to pass without a contingency plan or a new contract in place.

The timing of this crisis is particularly perilous. With severe weather and storms predicted for the region, the metro is being left completely vulnerable. Without operational emergency vehicles, the municipality will be unable to respond to flood-related emergencies, road accidents, or urgent medical needs during the anticipated adverse weather.

The safety of our residents is being gambled with due to a lack of proper contract management. It is unacceptable that critical services are paralysed while the administration scrambles to find a solution that should have been finalised months ago.  

GOOD calls for the immediate implementation of an emergency procurement process to secure fuel and get our emergency services back on the road. The residents of Nelson Mandela Bay cannot be held hostage by administrative incompetence, especially with a potential weather disaster on the horizon.

The leadership of the municipality must take full responsibility for this failure and provide an immediate timeline for when service vehicles will be operational again.

Issued by GOOD councillor Lawrence Troon